GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – A Guatemalan judge ordered prominent journalist Jose Zamora back to jail on Monday in a case that stems from money laundering charges he has dismissed as a political persecution.
Judge Erick Garcia ordered Zamora, the founder of the now-defunct elPeriodico newspaper, back behind bars in pre-trial detention after a higher court revoked an earlier allowance for house arrest following the embattled journalist’s previous 800-day stint behind bars.
Zamora derided the ruling as “arbitrary” in remarks near the end of his court appearance on Monday, arguing that the judge had no other choice.
“They left him cornered with no way out,” Zamora said.
During the hearing, Garcia said he and his staff had been threatened by unnamed individuals, but did not go into further detail.
The higher court issued its decision last November, but Zamora’s lawyers had been able to postpone its implementation over the past few months.
In 2023, Zamora was convicted on money laundering charges and sentenced to six years in prison. An appeals court later overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial for 2025.
Under Zamora’s leadership, elPeriodico published major corruption investigations that targeted multiple governments over three decades of award-winning coverage. In 2022, just days before his first arrest, Zamora publicly criticized then-President Alejandro Giammattei.
Giammattei appointed current Attorney General Consuelo Porras. Her office has overseen Zamora’s prosecution while opposing the earlier petition for house arrest, and has herself been accused of corruption by the U.S. government.
(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Bill Berkrot)
Comments